Biosensors Environmental Dyes Quantum Dots Remote Detection
Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe. Robotic astrobiologists will one day search for life on other planets, but first we prepare robots to study life in extreme environments here on Earth. CMU is part of a NASA project using robotic technologies to investigate signs of life in the Atacama Desert of Chile. We are trying to understand how life survives in the driest desert on Earth; and in doing so, we are shaping the future of robotic astrobiology.
The team at Carnegie Mellon have have created a rover named Zoe equipped with cameras (Figure 1), a spectrometer, and a fluorescence imager to detect microorganisms living in the desert and to characterize their habitat. The MBIC team was responsible for the creation of the Fluorescence Imager. It detects organic fluorescence in daylight by using a high-intensity flash-lamp and cooled-CCD imager. Paired excitation and emission filter wheels are used to image chlorophyll fluorescence as well as the fluorescent signatures of probes for amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins.
